A single divination predicts life and death; the entire internet begs me to start a live stream.

"The auspicious time has arrived—"

"The bride and groom—"

"Enter the hall——"

When the master of ceremonies' voice came from the underground of the abandoned funeral home, it startled several birds into flight.

The voice was hoarse.

very long.

It's like someone is talking right next to a coffin lid.

The gate of the abandoned funeral home is half collapsed.

The iron gate was covered in rust.

The sign by the door is leaning against the wall.

Haicheng Third Funeral Service Station

The words have faded.

But the word "funeral" was particularly glaring in the white fog.

Chen Bufan stood at the doorway, staring at the underground entrance.

The red aura is strongest there.

Like a line of blood, seeping out from the crack in the ground.

Lin Wanqing gripped the flashlight tightly, but the light couldn't penetrate very far; it was all blurred in the fog.

"Is Xu Yao downstairs?"

Chen Bufan nodded.

"Still alive."

Lin Wanqing immediately walked forward.

Chen Bufan raised his hand to stop her.

"Don't step on the ashes at the door."

Lin Wanqing lowered her head.

There was a thin layer of dust on the ground inside the gate.

It's not ordinary dust.

It's the ashes of burnt paper money.

The ash was scattered in the shape of a threshold.

If you don't look carefully, it's easy to step on it.

Lin Wanqing took half a step back.

"What is this?"

"The threshold of darkness".

Chen Bufan said.

"Stepping over it means you've entered their wedding hall."

The young detective turned pale.

"Then how do we get in?"

Chen Bufan took out three Five Emperors Coins from the cloth bag and placed them on the edge of the paper ash.

Then he made a dot in the air with a vermilion pen.

"Go for the money."

Lin Wanqing didn't ask any further questions.

She carefully stepped over the ashes, standing on the spot where the five emperor coins were placed.

Two detectives followed behind, holding their breath.

It was very dark inside the funeral home.

When the flashlight beam shone through, all that could be seen was an abandoned hall, overturned chairs, and a dilapidated reception desk.

The service procedures, which had long since turned yellow, were still posted on the wall.

Reception of the remains.

A vigil and farewell.

Cremation registration.

Ashes storage.

These words, worn and faded by time, appear before my eyes like obituaries that haven't been properly burned.

At the far end of the hall, there is a staircase leading underground.

Two red lanterns hung at the top of the stairs.

The red lanterns don't say "happiness".

Rather, it is a foundation.

The character "奠" (diàn, meaning "offering sacrifice") is in red.

Lin Wanqing's brow twitched at the sight.

"Red lanterns with the character '奠' (meaning 'mourning') written on them?"

Chen Bufan said:

"The halls for weddings in the afterlife are indistinguishable from those for funerals."

The sound of suona horns still echoed from the bottom of the stairs.

Each note sounded like someone crying while playing the hymn of joy.

They went down the stairs.

The lower you go, the lower the temperature.

Water is seeping from the wall.

The air was filled with a mixture of musty smells, incense, and a sweet, rotten stench.

Halfway there, the young detective suddenly stopped.

"Team Leader Lin."

Lin Wanqing turned around.

"What's wrong?"

The young detective turned pale, pointed to the corner of the wall, and couldn't speak.

There sat a paper figure.

white face.

Red cheeks.

He was dressed in a black funeral shroud.

He was holding a tray in his hands.

There were three glasses of wine on the tray.

The paper figure tilted its head, its mouth split open.

It looks like a smile.

Just as Lin Wanqing was about to see clearly, Chen Bufan whispered:

"Don't stare into its eyes."

The young detective was so frightened that he immediately looked away.

In Yu Guangzhong's painting, the smile on the paper figure's lips seems to have grown a little bigger.

The young detective had to shield his eyes from the corner of his eye with his hand, only daring to look at Chen Bufan's back.

They continued downwards.

The basement door was open.

Red couplets were pasted on the door.

left:

A blessed union between people of different surnames.

right:

[Born to Endure the Flame of Life and Death]

Horizontal scroll:

[Eternal Bond in the Afterlife]

"To continue the family line."

These three words indeed confirmed Chen Bufan's previous judgment.

This ghost marriage was not just to find a companion for Song Wenjie.

It's about taking the lives of living people to continue the Song family's lineage.

Chen Bufan raised his hand, signaling everyone to stop.

From the basement came the hoarse voice of the emcee.

"I beg Heaven and Earth to open their eyes."

"Please, sir, take your seats."

"Three times, a matchmaker was asked to arrange the marriage."

"The bride enters the hall—"

Chen Bufan got up and walked forward.

"It's too late."

He stepped into the basement.

The scene before her made Lin Wanqing's breath catch in her throat.

The entire basement was decorated as a wedding hall.

Red silk hung down from the roof.

The walls were covered with the character for "happiness".

Paper money was scattered on the ground.

Rows of paper guests were placed on both sides.

The paper figures were dressed in suits, cheongsams, and Tang suits, and their faces were covered with pale powder.

They sat in neat rows.

Like a group of dead people who came specifically to attend a wedding.

In the center of the wedding hall, there was an offering table.

The groom was not present on the offering table.

There is only one black and white portrait of him.

The man in the photo is about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, with a frivolous look in his eyes and a slightly arrogant smile on his lips.

Song Wenjie.

In front of the portrait, there were three glasses of wine.

A rooster.

A black bowl.

There is also a lucky coin engraved with a black life pattern.

Next to the portrait was an urn containing ashes.

Red paper was pasted on the urn.

The red paper read:

Groom Song Wenjie

"The Song family did indeed keep the ashes."

Lin Wanqing muttered to herself.

Chen Bufan's gaze, however, went past the offering table and looked towards the center of the wedding hall.

Xu Yao is there.

She was wearing a red wedding dress.

The phoenix crown is askew.

His hands were tied with a red rope.

He knelt on the red carpet.

His eyes were half-open, but lifeless.

The lips are pale.

It's like it's still alive, yet it's also like it's already had half its soul taken away.

Two paper figures stood behind her.

They pressed on her shoulders, one on each side.

Xu Yao heard footsteps and her eyes moved slowly.

She looked at Chen Bufan.

There was actually a glimmer of consciousness in his eyes.

"Master Chen..."

The sound was very soft.

So soft it was almost inaudible.

Lin Wanqing immediately stepped forward.

"Xu Yao!"

Chen Bufan stopped her.

"Don't go on the red carpet."

Lin Wanqing stopped abruptly in her tracks.

Seven small bowls were placed on either side of the red carpet.

There was water in each bowl.

A woman's hair floats on the water.

Chen Bufan glanced at it and recognized it immediately.

"The Bowl for Living Souls"

"If you step in, her soul will scatter."

Lin Wanqing suppressed her anger.

"How can we save him?"

Before Chen Bufan could answer, a low laugh suddenly came from deep within the wedding hall.

"Chen Bufan".

"You arrived faster than I expected."

Everyone looked up abruptly.

Behind the offering table stood a person.

The man was wearing a dark red robe.

He was wearing a red face mask.

The mask resembled the face of Guan Yu on the opera stage, but it lacked any semblance of righteousness.

It was so red it looked almost black.

The corner of his mouth was split open.

Only two cold, sinister eyes were visible above his eyebrows.

He was holding a scroll of marriage certificate in his hand.

His voice was hoarse, as if his throat had been burned.

Lin Wanqing immediately raised her gun.

"police!"

"Release the hostages!"

The red-faced sorcerer chuckled softly.

"Officer Lin."

"Guns are considered unlucky in a wedding hall."

Lin Wanqing pointed her gun at the red-faced sorcerer:

"You can give it a try."

The red-faced sorcerer didn't panic.

He even slowly raised his hand and pointed at Xu Yao.

"Shoot."

My hand trembled.

"The girl's soul has entered the marriage certificate."

Lin Wanqing's fingers tensed.

But he did not pull the trigger.

Because she saw that Xu Yao's name on the marriage certificate in the red-faced sorcerer's hand was gradually turning red.

Chen Bufan stared at him.

"Xuan Qingzi's people?"

The red-faced sorcerer smiled.

"Xuan Qingzi?"

"He's not worthy to be ordered around by me."

Chen Bufan's eyes darkened.

"Mingde etiquette and customs culture?"

The red-faced sorcerer looked up, seemingly somewhat surprised.

"You're quick on the uptake."

Lin Wanqing asked:

"Zhou Qiming?"

The red-faced sorcerer neither admitted nor denied it.

They simply unfolded the marriage certificate slowly.

"The name is not important."

"The ceremony is important once it's over."

Chen Bufan looked behind him.

There was a row of yellow papers hanging there.

Each piece of yellow paper contained the woman's name, date of birth, and contact information.

At least a dozen.

Some names have been crossed out with red lines.

Meng Yun.

Su Man.

Xu Yao.

After Xu Yao, there are many more names that haven't been crossed out.

Lin Wanqing saw it too.

"Are there any other goals?"

The two detectives looked ashen-faced.

It turns out that Xu Yao wasn't the last one at all.

This chain is already preparing for the next batch of "brides".

Chen Bufan was extremely displeased.

"How many ghost marriages have you arranged for people?"

The red-faced sorcerer chuckled.

"This young master from the Xuanmen sect."

"Some people die, but their families don't want the line to end."

"Some people live, but their fate is too lowly."

"A lowly life deserves a noble soul."

"This is their good fortune."

Upon hearing these words, Xu Yao burst into tears.

"I'm not..."

"I'm not..."

A hint of killing intent flashed in Chen Bufan's eyes.

"Blessing?"

He took a step forward.

The bowls containing the spirits on both sides of the red carpet trembled simultaneously.

Chen Bufan stopped.

The red-faced sorcerer shook his head.

"Don't rush."

I know you want to save her.

"But if you dare to break off this marriage, the souls of the first two brides will also be scattered."

Lin Wanqing's expression changed.

"What do you mean?"

The red-faced sorcerer pointed to both sides of the offering table.

Two red garments were hanging there.

A red cheongsam.

A red wedding dress.

Meng Yun.

Su Man.

Their remaining souls were pressed down next to Song Wenjie's portrait.

The red-faced sorcerer laughed hoarsely:

"The three bows were not completed."

"They can still maintain their soul lines."

"If you forcefully break through..."

"Their souls were scattered."

"When a person dies, they become a ghost; when a ghost dies, they become a spirit. If one's soul is truly scattered, then one is gone forever."

"If you do not break through."

"Xu Yao entered the Song family."

"This ghost marriage can be considered a satisfactory ending."

After he finished speaking, he slowly raised the marriage certificate in his hand and even made a provocative "please" gesture.

"So, this young master of the Xuanmen sect..."

"You choose."

Lin Wanqing gritted her teeth.

This is not a choice.

This is using the lives of three victims to force Chen Bufan to give way.

Chen Bufan looked at the red-faced sorcerer.

Suddenly he laughed.

"You bunch of people who try to change fate all like to force others to choose."

The red-faced sorcerer's eyes flickered slightly.

Chen Bufan continued:

"Lu Changsheng uses the lives of ordinary people to prolong the lives of the powerful and wealthy."

"The Song family takes the lives of the living to continue the ancestral worship of the dead."

"You took the souls of the first two dead people and forced me to abandon the third living person."

Ultimately, you only know one thing.

The red-faced sorcerer was taken aback:

"What?"

Chen Bufan said, word by word:

"Using other people's lives to pave the way for your own future."

The red-faced warlock clearly didn't like this assessment.

"it is good."

"Since the young master is unwilling to choose..."

"Then I'll choose for you."

He suddenly raised his hand.

"The auspicious time has arrived!"

The paper figures on both sides stood up at the same time.

The suona horn suddenly rose in pitch.

The red candlelight turned a ghastly green.

The two paper figures behind Xu Yao pressed down hard on her shoulders.

Xu Yao struggled desperately.

"don't want!"

"I won't marry him!"

The red-faced sorcerer's voice was hoarse and shrill:

"Newcomer—"

"I bow to Heaven and Earth!"

Two paper figures grabbed Xu Yao by the back of the neck.

They forcibly pressed her head down.

Seeing this, Chen Bufan flicked his two fingers, and the old copper coin flew out from between his fingers.

At the same instant, the red-faced sorcerer pressed the marriage certificate in front of Song Wenjie's portrait.

Black smoke instantly billowed from Meng Yun and Su Man's two red dresses.

Xu Yao's head had been pressed into the air.

Lower it by one inch.

That's how it was accomplished.